BK Redstone Olomoucko – KK Dubrava 89:77 (21:18, 25:21, 22:19, 21:19)
Attendance: 300
Scorers – Olomoucko: Adamu 27, Feštr 16, McBrayer 15, Vogt 10, Klepač 7, Townsend and Žák each 6, Hemphill 2
Scorers – Dubrava: Ročak 30, Jurić 13, Vidović 11, Vragović 10, Kos 5, Paponja 4, Karahodžić 2
Already, the first few minutes showed that the visitors had a great interest in the progress bar. They arrived with a full lineup and took the lead at the start of the match. However, Olomoucko defended well, won the ball, and managed to turn the result around. In the middle of the 8th minute, the home team led 17:12 and eventually dominated the first quarter with a ratio of 21:18. They continued their good performance in the following minutes and had a double-digit lead for the first time at 30:20 after Adamu’s triple. Five minutes before the break, Dubrava was even losing by twelve points. Although the Croats erased half of their loss, the home team led 46:39 after twenty minutes, even though they made only one three-pointer in the first half.
After the break, Olomoucko briefly bounced back to a bigger difference, yet in the 28th minute, Dubrava lost only eight points and had the ball in their possession. After the loss, however, Townsend hit an important three-pointer, and that’s why the home team led 68:58 when the last ten minutes started. After less than a minute, Dubrava reduced the score to 63:68, and a big battle broke out. The Croatians were led by Ročak, who was active in shooting. REDSTONE responded with a team performance and led 79:66 after Klepač’s triple in the 33rd minute. However, the Croatian team again managed to get closer to a difference of seven points. Then, of course, Adamu hit an extremely important three-pointer, and after another basket by the same player from a drive, it was decided.
Post-game quotes:
Andy Hipsher, coach of Olomoucko: “We knew that we would face a quality opponent who also had promotion ambitions. Our defense matched that. We did a good job under our own basket, we got fifteen balls. We were able to double the shooters, it was a team performance. Only Ročak, who scored 30 points, made a significant difference, while the others managed to be controlled. The progress has not yet been 100% decided, but we are in a good position, and I believe that we will reach the final tournament.”
Amin Adamu, player of Olomoucko: “It was a very open game, and both teams wanted to win. We were in the lead from the middle of the first quarter, so we deserved to win. We had to be careful until the end of the match because Dubrava was dangerous. But we have already checked the conclusion.”
Jeronimo Šarin, coach of Dubrava: “We wanted to avenge the defeat from our scoreboard against the home team and stay in the game for advancement to the decisive phase of the competition. However, we took the lead only at the beginning of the match, later the opponent did not allow us to do so. We made mistakes in passing and lost a lot of balls, that was the biggest problem and the reason why we lost.”
Toni Ročak, player of Dubrava: “For a long time, we had hope of victory, several times, we managed to reduce our loss to a few points. But in these moments, the opponent made an important shot every time and bounced back. Our team fought until the end, but this time it was not enough.”
